The Corrupt and the Pure; Chapter 32: The Rematch
[INFO]Title: The Corrupt and the Pure
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers & Captain America (MCU)
Timeline: post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Genre: Drama, action, hurt/comfort
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Steve Rogers (Captain America), Tony Stark (Iron Man). Also: Bruce Banner (Hulk), James “Bucky” Barnes (Winter Soldier), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., James “Rhodey” Rhodes (War Machine), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor, Sam Wilson (Falcon)
Pairing: Steve/Tony
Summary: When the Steve Rogers from an alternate universe appears in the middle of the Avengers Tower, two worlds are about to collide: one where Captain America became the tool of HYDRA and fell into a relationship with the hero Iron Man - and one where Tony and Steve are tentatively getting along. The latter are forced to reconsider their relationship when the Commander kidnaps Tony to replace his dead lover.
Complete.
Written for: A story commissioned by Susanne (ChickenHax @ AO3 / starkred @ Tumblr).
Warnings: Rape/non-con, major character death (alternate universe), graphic canonical violence, M/M sexual content, language.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 32: The Rematch
New York City air space, NY
Watching without actually looking was an art form he had perfected. However, trapped in an aircraft and surrounded by seven people - most of whom seemed extremely interested in him - it was hard not to be caught.
Bucky was beginning to doubt whether going along with this had been wise.
Instinctively, his eyes searched for Tony Stark, who was standing beside his red-and-gold suit, talking to the pilot of the other one. Iron Man and War Machine… The time away from HYDRA had been stressful and filled with uncertainty, but Bucky hadn’t wasted it. He was no longer HYDRA’s asset. He’d had a life, once, and piecing the little morsels of information together had given him some idea of who he was.
“Bucky…”
He shifted his eyes and looked at Steve - Steven Grant Rogers, his best friend from the time before. Bucky was keenly aware he knew him, but despite that it was hard to relax and lower his guard. It always felt like Steve wanted something from him, and Bucky wasn’t sure what that was, exactly.
“Chill, Cap,” Tony mused from the other side of the cabin. “I think he’d appreciate a bit of space.”
Bucky’s eyes drifted to check Steve’s expression, which was somewhat dejected. Yes, it was painfully obvious he wanted something from Bucky.
Steve finally nodded and took a step back even though it didn’t really move him all that far away.
Bucky could feel Tony checking him out, as if to see whether he was thankful for the intervention. He met the man’s gaze but didn’t offer more by way of a reaction, refusing to give him the pleasure.
Stark men were full of themselves, as it were; they didn’t need anyone else to inflate their ego.
So far, Tony hadn’t been how he’d imagined. Bucky wasn’t sure why that was, or what exactly he had been expecting, but it felt like there wasn’t enough ego in the things Tony said and did. Was he holding back? Pretending to be something he wasn’t? He wasn’t that afraid of Bucky, nor should he, with his suit hovering at his side. Sure, Bucky could make more than a dent in it, but he knew Iron Man was a considerable opponent.
As long as he disabled the pilot before he got inside the suit of armor…
Bucky looked away, reminding himself that it might not become necessary. There had been no obvious hostilities against him, and Tony had said they were trying to protect him, whatever that meant.
Even so, it didn’t hurt to be prepared.
“How long before we reach the Tower?” Steve called out towards the cockpit.
“About five minutes; I’ll be starting the final approach soon,” the pilot called back towards them.
Steve nodded, then looked at Tony. “Any sign of the Commander?”
“None,” Tony replied. His body stiffened somewhat, and Steve’s stance was one of uneasy tension; Bucky knew that without thinking, and didn’t question it. The things he sensed about Steve Rogers hadn’t led him astray. They confused him, yes, and drove him to search his own past even when he might have preferred to leave it alone, but piece by piece he was getting it all back.
Even the things he hadn’t known he had been happy to forget.
His shoulder ached with pain that came and went, a phantom sensation of a limb long gone and replaced.
He must have moved because Tony’s eyes turned back towards him, unmistakably checking out the metal arm. Bucky knew interest when he saw it, and it made him somewhat uneasy. Just because he often disliked the arm didn’t mean he could survive without it, a crucial part of his defense.
“Who’s the Commander?” he asked, to take the attention away from the mechanical limb.
It definitely worked: Steve shifted and Tony sighed, looking away.
“That’s the guy who’s after you - and us, to an extent,” Tony explained, staring at a wall.
“He’s HYDRA?” Bucky guessed.
“Sort of,” Tony said, in the exact same tone as in the old HYDRA base where he and his friend had found Bucky.
“It’s complicated,” Bucky murmured.
“It is,” Steve agreed. “He’s not from this world - literally.”
Bucky blinked while he waited for someone to elaborate. Apparently, his lack of actual reaction surprised the others. So, he shrugged. “You work for HYDRA long enough - or against them - and you get used to stuff that isn’t normal,” he explained.
Steve nodded slowly. Back in the day, they had seen some stuff - stuff that Bucky didn’t always remember, but he was fairly certain they’d had their fair share of weird even before HYDRA took him.
“The Commander is from an alternate world, where HYDRA located Cap’s plane before S.H.I.E.L.D. did,” Tony explained. “From that point on, I think you can relate to his story, so I’ll save you the details of his downfall. Nowadays, they call him the Commander.”
Bucky frowned and sat straight. “The Commander is… Steve?”
Tony had explained it pretty plainly; what made Bucky hesitate was actually saying Steve’s name out loud, after all this time. It felt strange.
Obviously, Steve didn’t like that fact about their enemy, his face twisting with disgust and loathing. “We have very little in common,” he snapped, like it physically hurt him to even admit they may have been the same guy back in the day.
Come to think of it, picturing Steve Rogers as something HYDRA had twisted was almost impossible to imagine. Maybe the two of them weren’t made of the same stuff after all…
Or maybe Bucky had to be realistic and admit that with enough time, anything could happen.
He looked at Tony for a confirmation of some sort, and while Steve’s feelings were an open book, Tony was far more guarded. Wary. Once again, it didn’t fit Bucky’s mental image of the cocky superhero, and he wondered what it was about the Commander that put everyone so on edge.
The aircraft dipped slightly, probably arching in preparation to land. Bucky braced himself, feet square against the floor, and Tony reached out to steady himself on his armor’s shoulder. Steve merely shifted his stance, not reaching out for extra support. He looked relieved that they were finally reaching their destination, however.
Bucky decided he liked it better when Steve wasn’t on edge; it made it easier for Bucky to relax a bit, even though he couldn’t drop his guard in the situation he was in. It was tiring to be on full alert for long periods of time, though, so a bit of a respite was welcome.
They were still banking left when suddenly there was a loud bang against the hull of the aircraft. Tony jumped at the sound, turning towards it, and it was clear the sound was not part of the landing routine.
Bucky’s eyes slid across the wall where the sound had come, and he imagined he saw a slight dent in the metal, quite narrow and less than ten inches in length.
“No way,” the pilot began - then jerked the controls hard enough to make everyone lose their balance. Bucky’s metal arm dug into a nearby support beam on the wall, fingers digging into the metal, barely keeping himself on his seat.
Before anyone could ask what was going on, there was a resounding explosion, and the aircraft began to sink towards the ground. The wings must have been still attached to the rest of it because they didn’t plummet down wildly, but there was very little grace in their fall.
Bucky fought back the instinctive nausea as the aircraft tilted to the side and almost rolled over, but the pilot was still gripping the controls and managed to keep the belly facing down, albeit with difficulty.
As Bucky adjusted his grip and hung on, he spied the red-and-gold armor bracing itself on nearby fixtures with one hand, the other curled around Tony’s body, keeping him from plummeting across the ship’s interior like most of the other occupants of the aircraft.
“Thor!” Steve bellowed. “Get out there.”
The long-haired man in near-medieval attire nodded and fought to get upright, but just then there was another explosion and the aircraft tilted, sending him crashing down, his heavy hammer banging against the floor.
A section of the hull tore off with the second explosion, and suddenly someone was climbing inside the aircraft, despite their continued descent from the sky. The first thing Bucky’s eyes caught was the shield, identical to Steve’s albeit differently painted. He then checked the face, finding familiarity in it despite the massive scarring.
The Commander.
Tony’s armor perked up upon the man’s unexpected entrance, firing up its engines and letting go of its supporting hold on the wall. Tony let out a yelp, gravity and the falling aircraft making it impossible for the suit to fly - especially with its pilot still clinging to the outside. However, flying seemed to be secondary in the armor’s priorities because it raised its free hand, palm forward, and blasted the Commander. The aim was meant for his face, but the shot caught him in the shoulder instead.
“J, I need to get inside,” Tony yelled over the noise of the failing engines and the wind that was increasing within the interior of the aircraft.
The armor halted then shifted again, clearly trying to find some way to stabilize itself long enough to let Tony crawl inside.
The Commander, briefly knocked off his feet by the blast, dug into a pocket of his pants for something.
“No, you don’t!” Steve yelled and launched himself at the man, forgoing the use of his shield in order to get his hands on the Commander.
Over the noise, Bucky thought someone shouted something about bracing themselves - just before they finally hit the ground. The aircraft bounced up and then down again, sliding to a screeching and rather violent halt; sounds of bending metal and breaking glass chorused the final leg of their journey before they came to a full stop.
The Commander pushed himself up with a growl, a fist flying towards Steve’s face. At the last second Steve dodged, narrowly missing the full impact and merely getting his cheek grazed, his own hand already poised to return the favor.
Bucky moved away from the wall, keeping low. He didn’t know what the Commander wanted with him, but the longer he studied the two near-identical men fighting, the less thrilled he was about the prospect of facing him. Sure, he would make a stand if he had to, but the Commander was a formidable opponent.
Faint mechanical clicks preceded another blast of light, this time aimed at the Commander’s feet, unbalancing him and allowing Steve to land a solid punch. The Commander reeled back, still in the fight, but as Iron Man strode across the debris of the aircraft, now in full battle mode, he clearly took a second to consider his options.
“You are surrounded!” Thor bellowed, also getting to his feet, hammer in his hand.
“Perhaps,” the Commander noted, speaking up for the first time, and his voice brought back memories Bucky had of a different man. Not this twisted creature…
“Surrender,” Thor demanded, striding closer.
“Why don’t you show me what you’ve got, Asgardian?” the Commander challenged, raising his shield.
Thor shifted his hammer and it began to spark with growing static.
“Don’t!” Tony yelled and raised his hand. “You fire it up here and most of our team will end up electrocuted.”
Thor growled but relaxed his hold on his weapon somewhat, the electric lightshow fading back into the metal.
The Commander gave Tony a look. “You’re learning, yet unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices; he could have disabled me with a good blast, and you’re protected inside your armor.”
“I’ll find another way to take you down,” Tony replied.
The Commander smiled. “I’m sure.”
“Weren’t you boasting about how you were able to defeat Iron Man, the first time we met?” Steve snapped. Clearly, he didn’t like the other two interacting, and rather obviously began to make his way between them.
“Oh, I did,” the Commander replied. “But it was never a one-sided fight. Had it been, we never would have had time to… get to know each other.” There was something odd in the way he said it, Bucky decided. “He was an opponent worthy of every clash we had, and it could have always gone either way.”
“But I’m not him,” Tony noted.
“No, you’re not,” the Commander agreed. “That is why I’m confident I can best you in the end.”
Tony’s answering snort was audible even through the speakers of the suit.
“That’s not going to happen,” Steve stated. His body language suggested he was about to rush into another fist-fight with the Commander. Bucky didn’t remember him being this hostile; the Steve he remembered reacted to the situation and took care of it, but rarely instigated a fight if things could be resolved another way. Well, not counting the back-alley scuffles… When lives other than his own were at stake, Steve’s attitude changed. Right now, though, it felt like he was facing yet another bully on the streets of Brooklyn.
“Guys,” War Machine’s pilot called out. “We have men down.”
Steve didn’t seem to hear, but Tony did: “The team comes first, Cap,” he said.
“Since when?” Steve snapped, eyes never leaving the Commander.
“When did it stop being your priority?” Tony challenged.
“I’m taking him down,” Steve growled, taking a step towards the Commander. “I’m tired of the chase.”
The Commander didn’t say anything, merely adjusted his shield.
“While I would normally agree, Captain, I must put our fellow Avengers first,” Thor mused unhappily. “We will fight him another day.”
“Go help the others; I’ll handle him,” Steve went on mulishly.
“We just crashed down in the middle of the street,” Tony said sharply. “There’s no knowing how many people got injured as a result of the fall.” His armored head turned towards the Commander. “We’ll let him walk this time.”
“No -”
“Yes, we will. This one is my call,” Tony snapped.
“You can’t just let him walk away!” Steve exclaimed, turning to face Tony.
“Watch me,” Tony growled back.
“What if I don’t walk away?” the Commander asked.
The suit whirred softly as Iron Man turned towards him. “The odds are against you, Commander. If we start to brawl on the street, I swear you’ll have the Hulk pounding your skull into the pavement in twenty seconds flat.” His words hung heavy in the air. “Next time, we fight to the end. No distractions,” he promised.
“And the winner takes all,” the Commander replied, sounding like he was in total agreement all of a sudden. Maybe the threat of the Hulk was enough to shake some sense into him.
“We’re not letting him walk,” Steve protested again and moved forward in an intended attack.
Bucky moved out of his spot, grabbing onto Steve before he could get within striking distance of the Commander.
The Commander started slightly, clearly not having noticed him earlier. Their eyes met, briefly, but then Tony stepped forward, cutting between them.
“Take it or leave it,” Tony said, voice almost too low to hear. “Either you go, or we’ll have at it right now, and I guarantee you’re not walking away from it.”
The Commander took a slow, precise step back. “Be careful with that one,” he said, nodding towards Bucky. “He killed you once.”
“It wasn’t him, and it wasn’t me,” Tony replied.
The Commander moved backwards out of the tear in the side of the aircraft, keeping an eye on them in case of a surprise attack. Once he was gone, there was a collective sigh of relief - save for Steve, who groaned in frustration.
“He didn’t seem so tough,” Bucky commented, to lighten the mood.
“He’ll be back,” Steve grunted, pulling against Bucky’s hold and then looking at him when he didn’t let go.
“At least it will spare us the time needed to go looking for him,” Tony commented, then moved towards the gaping hole in the wall. “I’ll start mapping out the destruction outside. Check on the others.” His voice was tight once again, as if there were excess tension in his body.
Bucky decided there was more to the Commander and his relationship with the Avengers than he had first guessed.
“I’m fine,” Steve murmured, and Bucky slowly let go of him, still keeping an eye on his movements in case he decided to bolt after the Commander. He didn’t, though, instead heading towards the front of the aircraft, and Bucky remained standing where he was.
“The Commander is a man of conviction and intense focus,” Thor mused. “That makes him a formidable opponent.”
Bucky nodded slowly.
“Next time,” Thor went on, swinging his hammer into the palm of his left hand with a meaty thud, “we will catch him.”
They could have caught him today, but it felt almost like Tony had preferred to let him go. Whether it was to protect innocent bystanders and injured teammates, or something completely different, Bucky didn’t know.
If it was the latter, he knew he would have to be on his guard, because it would spell trouble later on.
to be continued…
Story info
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers & Captain America (MCU)
Timeline: post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Genre: Drama, action, hurt/comfort
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Steve Rogers (Captain America), Tony Stark (Iron Man). Also: Bruce Banner (Hulk), James “Bucky” Barnes (Winter Soldier), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., James “Rhodey” Rhodes (War Machine), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor, Sam Wilson (Falcon)
Pairing: Steve/Tony
Summary: When the Steve Rogers from an alternate universe appears in the middle of the Avengers Tower, two worlds are about to collide: one where Captain America became the tool of HYDRA and fell into a relationship with the hero Iron Man - and one where Tony and Steve are tentatively getting along. The latter are forced to reconsider their relationship when the Commander kidnaps Tony to replace his dead lover.
Complete.
Written for: A story commissioned by Susanne (ChickenHax @ AO3 / starkred @ Tumblr).
Warnings: Rape/non-con, major character death (alternate universe), graphic canonical violence, M/M sexual content, language.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 32: The Rematch
New York City air space, NY
Watching without actually looking was an art form he had perfected. However, trapped in an aircraft and surrounded by seven people - most of whom seemed extremely interested in him - it was hard not to be caught.
Bucky was beginning to doubt whether going along with this had been wise.
Instinctively, his eyes searched for Tony Stark, who was standing beside his red-and-gold suit, talking to the pilot of the other one. Iron Man and War Machine… The time away from HYDRA had been stressful and filled with uncertainty, but Bucky hadn’t wasted it. He was no longer HYDRA’s asset. He’d had a life, once, and piecing the little morsels of information together had given him some idea of who he was.
“Bucky…”
He shifted his eyes and looked at Steve - Steven Grant Rogers, his best friend from the time before. Bucky was keenly aware he knew him, but despite that it was hard to relax and lower his guard. It always felt like Steve wanted something from him, and Bucky wasn’t sure what that was, exactly.
“Chill, Cap,” Tony mused from the other side of the cabin. “I think he’d appreciate a bit of space.”
Bucky’s eyes drifted to check Steve’s expression, which was somewhat dejected. Yes, it was painfully obvious he wanted something from Bucky.
Steve finally nodded and took a step back even though it didn’t really move him all that far away.
Bucky could feel Tony checking him out, as if to see whether he was thankful for the intervention. He met the man’s gaze but didn’t offer more by way of a reaction, refusing to give him the pleasure.
Stark men were full of themselves, as it were; they didn’t need anyone else to inflate their ego.
So far, Tony hadn’t been how he’d imagined. Bucky wasn’t sure why that was, or what exactly he had been expecting, but it felt like there wasn’t enough ego in the things Tony said and did. Was he holding back? Pretending to be something he wasn’t? He wasn’t that afraid of Bucky, nor should he, with his suit hovering at his side. Sure, Bucky could make more than a dent in it, but he knew Iron Man was a considerable opponent.
As long as he disabled the pilot before he got inside the suit of armor…
Bucky looked away, reminding himself that it might not become necessary. There had been no obvious hostilities against him, and Tony had said they were trying to protect him, whatever that meant.
Even so, it didn’t hurt to be prepared.
“How long before we reach the Tower?” Steve called out towards the cockpit.
“About five minutes; I’ll be starting the final approach soon,” the pilot called back towards them.
Steve nodded, then looked at Tony. “Any sign of the Commander?”
“None,” Tony replied. His body stiffened somewhat, and Steve’s stance was one of uneasy tension; Bucky knew that without thinking, and didn’t question it. The things he sensed about Steve Rogers hadn’t led him astray. They confused him, yes, and drove him to search his own past even when he might have preferred to leave it alone, but piece by piece he was getting it all back.
Even the things he hadn’t known he had been happy to forget.
His shoulder ached with pain that came and went, a phantom sensation of a limb long gone and replaced.
He must have moved because Tony’s eyes turned back towards him, unmistakably checking out the metal arm. Bucky knew interest when he saw it, and it made him somewhat uneasy. Just because he often disliked the arm didn’t mean he could survive without it, a crucial part of his defense.
“Who’s the Commander?” he asked, to take the attention away from the mechanical limb.
It definitely worked: Steve shifted and Tony sighed, looking away.
“That’s the guy who’s after you - and us, to an extent,” Tony explained, staring at a wall.
“He’s HYDRA?” Bucky guessed.
“Sort of,” Tony said, in the exact same tone as in the old HYDRA base where he and his friend had found Bucky.
“It’s complicated,” Bucky murmured.
“It is,” Steve agreed. “He’s not from this world - literally.”
Bucky blinked while he waited for someone to elaborate. Apparently, his lack of actual reaction surprised the others. So, he shrugged. “You work for HYDRA long enough - or against them - and you get used to stuff that isn’t normal,” he explained.
Steve nodded slowly. Back in the day, they had seen some stuff - stuff that Bucky didn’t always remember, but he was fairly certain they’d had their fair share of weird even before HYDRA took him.
“The Commander is from an alternate world, where HYDRA located Cap’s plane before S.H.I.E.L.D. did,” Tony explained. “From that point on, I think you can relate to his story, so I’ll save you the details of his downfall. Nowadays, they call him the Commander.”
Bucky frowned and sat straight. “The Commander is… Steve?”
Tony had explained it pretty plainly; what made Bucky hesitate was actually saying Steve’s name out loud, after all this time. It felt strange.
Obviously, Steve didn’t like that fact about their enemy, his face twisting with disgust and loathing. “We have very little in common,” he snapped, like it physically hurt him to even admit they may have been the same guy back in the day.
Come to think of it, picturing Steve Rogers as something HYDRA had twisted was almost impossible to imagine. Maybe the two of them weren’t made of the same stuff after all…
Or maybe Bucky had to be realistic and admit that with enough time, anything could happen.
He looked at Tony for a confirmation of some sort, and while Steve’s feelings were an open book, Tony was far more guarded. Wary. Once again, it didn’t fit Bucky’s mental image of the cocky superhero, and he wondered what it was about the Commander that put everyone so on edge.
The aircraft dipped slightly, probably arching in preparation to land. Bucky braced himself, feet square against the floor, and Tony reached out to steady himself on his armor’s shoulder. Steve merely shifted his stance, not reaching out for extra support. He looked relieved that they were finally reaching their destination, however.
Bucky decided he liked it better when Steve wasn’t on edge; it made it easier for Bucky to relax a bit, even though he couldn’t drop his guard in the situation he was in. It was tiring to be on full alert for long periods of time, though, so a bit of a respite was welcome.
They were still banking left when suddenly there was a loud bang against the hull of the aircraft. Tony jumped at the sound, turning towards it, and it was clear the sound was not part of the landing routine.
Bucky’s eyes slid across the wall where the sound had come, and he imagined he saw a slight dent in the metal, quite narrow and less than ten inches in length.
“No way,” the pilot began - then jerked the controls hard enough to make everyone lose their balance. Bucky’s metal arm dug into a nearby support beam on the wall, fingers digging into the metal, barely keeping himself on his seat.
Before anyone could ask what was going on, there was a resounding explosion, and the aircraft began to sink towards the ground. The wings must have been still attached to the rest of it because they didn’t plummet down wildly, but there was very little grace in their fall.
Bucky fought back the instinctive nausea as the aircraft tilted to the side and almost rolled over, but the pilot was still gripping the controls and managed to keep the belly facing down, albeit with difficulty.
As Bucky adjusted his grip and hung on, he spied the red-and-gold armor bracing itself on nearby fixtures with one hand, the other curled around Tony’s body, keeping him from plummeting across the ship’s interior like most of the other occupants of the aircraft.
“Thor!” Steve bellowed. “Get out there.”
The long-haired man in near-medieval attire nodded and fought to get upright, but just then there was another explosion and the aircraft tilted, sending him crashing down, his heavy hammer banging against the floor.
A section of the hull tore off with the second explosion, and suddenly someone was climbing inside the aircraft, despite their continued descent from the sky. The first thing Bucky’s eyes caught was the shield, identical to Steve’s albeit differently painted. He then checked the face, finding familiarity in it despite the massive scarring.
The Commander.
Tony’s armor perked up upon the man’s unexpected entrance, firing up its engines and letting go of its supporting hold on the wall. Tony let out a yelp, gravity and the falling aircraft making it impossible for the suit to fly - especially with its pilot still clinging to the outside. However, flying seemed to be secondary in the armor’s priorities because it raised its free hand, palm forward, and blasted the Commander. The aim was meant for his face, but the shot caught him in the shoulder instead.
“J, I need to get inside,” Tony yelled over the noise of the failing engines and the wind that was increasing within the interior of the aircraft.
The armor halted then shifted again, clearly trying to find some way to stabilize itself long enough to let Tony crawl inside.
The Commander, briefly knocked off his feet by the blast, dug into a pocket of his pants for something.
“No, you don’t!” Steve yelled and launched himself at the man, forgoing the use of his shield in order to get his hands on the Commander.
Over the noise, Bucky thought someone shouted something about bracing themselves - just before they finally hit the ground. The aircraft bounced up and then down again, sliding to a screeching and rather violent halt; sounds of bending metal and breaking glass chorused the final leg of their journey before they came to a full stop.
The Commander pushed himself up with a growl, a fist flying towards Steve’s face. At the last second Steve dodged, narrowly missing the full impact and merely getting his cheek grazed, his own hand already poised to return the favor.
Bucky moved away from the wall, keeping low. He didn’t know what the Commander wanted with him, but the longer he studied the two near-identical men fighting, the less thrilled he was about the prospect of facing him. Sure, he would make a stand if he had to, but the Commander was a formidable opponent.
Faint mechanical clicks preceded another blast of light, this time aimed at the Commander’s feet, unbalancing him and allowing Steve to land a solid punch. The Commander reeled back, still in the fight, but as Iron Man strode across the debris of the aircraft, now in full battle mode, he clearly took a second to consider his options.
“You are surrounded!” Thor bellowed, also getting to his feet, hammer in his hand.
“Perhaps,” the Commander noted, speaking up for the first time, and his voice brought back memories Bucky had of a different man. Not this twisted creature…
“Surrender,” Thor demanded, striding closer.
“Why don’t you show me what you’ve got, Asgardian?” the Commander challenged, raising his shield.
Thor shifted his hammer and it began to spark with growing static.
“Don’t!” Tony yelled and raised his hand. “You fire it up here and most of our team will end up electrocuted.”
Thor growled but relaxed his hold on his weapon somewhat, the electric lightshow fading back into the metal.
The Commander gave Tony a look. “You’re learning, yet unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices; he could have disabled me with a good blast, and you’re protected inside your armor.”
“I’ll find another way to take you down,” Tony replied.
The Commander smiled. “I’m sure.”
“Weren’t you boasting about how you were able to defeat Iron Man, the first time we met?” Steve snapped. Clearly, he didn’t like the other two interacting, and rather obviously began to make his way between them.
“Oh, I did,” the Commander replied. “But it was never a one-sided fight. Had it been, we never would have had time to… get to know each other.” There was something odd in the way he said it, Bucky decided. “He was an opponent worthy of every clash we had, and it could have always gone either way.”
“But I’m not him,” Tony noted.
“No, you’re not,” the Commander agreed. “That is why I’m confident I can best you in the end.”
Tony’s answering snort was audible even through the speakers of the suit.
“That’s not going to happen,” Steve stated. His body language suggested he was about to rush into another fist-fight with the Commander. Bucky didn’t remember him being this hostile; the Steve he remembered reacted to the situation and took care of it, but rarely instigated a fight if things could be resolved another way. Well, not counting the back-alley scuffles… When lives other than his own were at stake, Steve’s attitude changed. Right now, though, it felt like he was facing yet another bully on the streets of Brooklyn.
“Guys,” War Machine’s pilot called out. “We have men down.”
Steve didn’t seem to hear, but Tony did: “The team comes first, Cap,” he said.
“Since when?” Steve snapped, eyes never leaving the Commander.
“When did it stop being your priority?” Tony challenged.
“I’m taking him down,” Steve growled, taking a step towards the Commander. “I’m tired of the chase.”
The Commander didn’t say anything, merely adjusted his shield.
“While I would normally agree, Captain, I must put our fellow Avengers first,” Thor mused unhappily. “We will fight him another day.”
“Go help the others; I’ll handle him,” Steve went on mulishly.
“We just crashed down in the middle of the street,” Tony said sharply. “There’s no knowing how many people got injured as a result of the fall.” His armored head turned towards the Commander. “We’ll let him walk this time.”
“No -”
“Yes, we will. This one is my call,” Tony snapped.
“You can’t just let him walk away!” Steve exclaimed, turning to face Tony.
“Watch me,” Tony growled back.
“What if I don’t walk away?” the Commander asked.
The suit whirred softly as Iron Man turned towards him. “The odds are against you, Commander. If we start to brawl on the street, I swear you’ll have the Hulk pounding your skull into the pavement in twenty seconds flat.” His words hung heavy in the air. “Next time, we fight to the end. No distractions,” he promised.
“And the winner takes all,” the Commander replied, sounding like he was in total agreement all of a sudden. Maybe the threat of the Hulk was enough to shake some sense into him.
“We’re not letting him walk,” Steve protested again and moved forward in an intended attack.
Bucky moved out of his spot, grabbing onto Steve before he could get within striking distance of the Commander.
The Commander started slightly, clearly not having noticed him earlier. Their eyes met, briefly, but then Tony stepped forward, cutting between them.
“Take it or leave it,” Tony said, voice almost too low to hear. “Either you go, or we’ll have at it right now, and I guarantee you’re not walking away from it.”
The Commander took a slow, precise step back. “Be careful with that one,” he said, nodding towards Bucky. “He killed you once.”
“It wasn’t him, and it wasn’t me,” Tony replied.
The Commander moved backwards out of the tear in the side of the aircraft, keeping an eye on them in case of a surprise attack. Once he was gone, there was a collective sigh of relief - save for Steve, who groaned in frustration.
“He didn’t seem so tough,” Bucky commented, to lighten the mood.
“He’ll be back,” Steve grunted, pulling against Bucky’s hold and then looking at him when he didn’t let go.
“At least it will spare us the time needed to go looking for him,” Tony commented, then moved towards the gaping hole in the wall. “I’ll start mapping out the destruction outside. Check on the others.” His voice was tight once again, as if there were excess tension in his body.
Bucky decided there was more to the Commander and his relationship with the Avengers than he had first guessed.
“I’m fine,” Steve murmured, and Bucky slowly let go of him, still keeping an eye on his movements in case he decided to bolt after the Commander. He didn’t, though, instead heading towards the front of the aircraft, and Bucky remained standing where he was.
“The Commander is a man of conviction and intense focus,” Thor mused. “That makes him a formidable opponent.”
Bucky nodded slowly.
“Next time,” Thor went on, swinging his hammer into the palm of his left hand with a meaty thud, “we will catch him.”
They could have caught him today, but it felt almost like Tony had preferred to let him go. Whether it was to protect innocent bystanders and injured teammates, or something completely different, Bucky didn’t know.
If it was the latter, he knew he would have to be on his guard, because it would spell trouble later on.
to be continued…
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